‘You do realise he is an executioner for a totalitarian fascist regime?’
The Law Society’s attempt to get down with the kids on social media backfired magnificently yesterday afternoon.
Keen to help recruit some fresh judicial talent, Chancery Lane bigwigs tweeted this to their 82,000 Twitter followers:
Channel your inner Judge Dredd. Are you thinking of taking the leap from solicitor ➡ judge? Explore the process https://t.co/0bd3kkuTod
— The Law Society (@TheLawSociety) April 20, 2017
Unfortunately, the social media post, which was supposed to encourage solicitors to apply to become judges, did not go down well with comic book connoisseurs and legal eagles alike. Questioning the society’s knowledge on all things Dredd, one tweeted:
@TheLawSociety Channel your inner Judge Dredd? Do you know who Judge Dredd is? I suspect not!
— ChrisH (@Moviebore) April 20, 2017
Another was quick to point out Dredd’s views on capital punishment.
@TheLawSociety You realise Dredd is an executioner for a totalitarian fascist regime?
— Benjamin Livingstone (@BLMcCallum) April 20, 2017
Others couldn’t resist poking fun at the society’s perhaps misguided comparison.
@TheLawSociety I get to go around shooting bad guys without following any due process? Sign me up!
— DaniBiscuit (@DaniBiscuit) April 20, 2017
@TheLawSociety Um. Will combat training be part of this "leap"?
— The Negative Zone (@NegZoneBlog) April 20, 2017
@TheLawSociety You, ah, you know that Dredd's the bad guy in the strip, right..?
— Richmond Clements (@richclements) April 20, 2017
Bombarded with responses, the Law Society — which represents solicitors across the country — eventually realised that Judge Dredd (the original comic book character) was very different to the one played by Sylvester Stallone in the 1995 movie of the same name.
@PJ_Maybe69 @wenhwu @JudgeDredd @legalcheek @2000AD We have been corrected now by @2000AD, we were referring to the Stallone movie. We shall cease to even liken judges to Judge Dredd now.
— The Law Society (@TheLawSociety) April 20, 2017
In the film, Dredd is framed for murder and finds himself in prison when he’s wrongly convicted. However, in the original comic book version, the futuristic street judge has the power to arrest, convict, sentence and execute criminals — probably not the sort of chap the judiciary of England and Wales is looking for.
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